


after all this time i'm still into you (i should be over all the butterflies)

by aceofdiamonds



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-12
Updated: 2013-11-12
Packaged: 2018-01-01 07:58:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1042325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aceofdiamonds/pseuds/aceofdiamonds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And Nico gets up because that's what he does, he runs when Percy calls, and he wanders over to Percy and wraps an arm round his waist and pushes his face into his neck because that's what they do. There's something masochistic about the whole situation but since when has anything ever not been with Nico. At least with this he gets that run of pleasure, that glimpse of what could be, when Percy rests his head on his for a moment, squeezing his waist before he pulls out a plate from the cupboard and dumps all of the chow mein onto it. </p><p>nico's in love with percy. he deals with it in his own way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	after all this time i'm still into you (i should be over all the butterflies)

**Author's Note:**

> i've been wanting to write something for percy jackson for ages because i love these books so much and i love nico and percy and nicoandpercy and this was the result. warnings for run on sentences and gossip girl spoilers. i don't own percy jackson or any of the characters mentioned.
> 
> set a few years after the last olympian. doesn't take into account heroes of olympus.

Nico has a lot of secrets. He feels it comes with the territory, his dad being the Lord of the Dead and all. It makes sense to have an air of mystery surrounding him every minute of the day.

He ranks his secrets on a very specific scale from biggest to smallest. The smallest is that there’s been a mouse living in his cupboard for the past week and maybe he _is_ giving it cheese every night, there’s no evidence. The biggest could arguably be that he’s in love with Percy, but so many people seem that now that it doesn’t seem right to count it as a Big Secret and so the trophy goes to his new obsession with Gossip Girl. 

It's not his fault, he argues -- to himself, as he presses next episode before his thirteen seconds are up. And isn't that always the case: nothing is ever Nico's fault. Sure he raised a couple of creepy old dudes from the grave but that was to save his sister, that was a _personal matter._ And yeah, maybe he _did_ sell out Percy Jackson, Boy Wonder and apple of everyone's eye, to his dad but again -- _personal reasons._ And, yes, _o_ kay, it was his idea for Percy to bathe in the River Styx and therefore make him a target for the rest of his life but that worked out well for everyone, even Percy, so, again, _not his fault_. 

There’s something about it, he thinks, caught in a melancholy train of thought when he sees a girl in a jacket the exact shade of Bianca’s. Every time he finds a reminder like this it’s like a punch to the throat, making him choke and come to a stop, swallowing a few times until he can see no he’s _not_ crying, he’s fine. He thinks she would hate Gossip Girl; hate the shallow problems and fake declarations of love. _Poor little Chuck Bass lost his empire? Shame. Come on, Nico, let’s run away from this French teacher slash minotaur and then split up and get killed and leave you all alone, that’s what happens in the real world_. But back to his defence on Gossip Girl, back to him convincing himself this is solid gold TV and a perfectly suitable waste of his time. See, there’s something in the way all these spoiled, fake characters parade through the very city he’s flitting through now, all full of drama and broken homes and broken hearts. There’s something relatable about them, something  that makes Nico nod and think _yeah, I know what you mean_ , and so this show, this shiny, clichéd show about the superficial lives of the Upper East Side, becomes Nico's therapy.

And is that not the most depressing fucking thing you’ve heard this week. 

His carefully hidden secret falls apart on a rainy Tuesday. He's just in from a hard day. He had an Economics test that he's pretty sure he guessed half the answers for and on the way home he ran into a gang of harpies. Seriously, half the time they're just looking for ways to annoy him. He kicks off his shoes, angrily rubs the blood off his wrist -- it was only a tiny cut from one of their claws catching him the wrong way but it feels like a failing -- and flops onto the bed that takes up three quarters of his living space. 

He lies there for a moment, debating getting up to go for food and then hoping his stomach understands when he drags his laptop onto his belly instead. He hasn't watched Gossip Girl in 29 hours, withdrawal symptoms are kicking in. 

Little Jenny Humphrey is worming her way further into the group while Blair’s crying over Chuck. He thinks he might be Team Blair if he allows himself to think hard enough about it. He doesn’t like Chuck, he agrees with his sister there; too much of everything and not enough compassion. Nico relates a little bit on the compassion front, maybe that’s why he hates him so much. He’s getting better, though. The friendship he’s built up with Percy since the war has helped a lot, mainly because a lot of the time with Percy he has to work the opposite way to keep his feelings in check. 

The bed dips beside him and Nico looks up from the screen to see Percy leaning in to see. This is why he should have protested more when Percy begged for his own key -- I’m here all the time anyway, just stops you getting up off your ass every time I knock the door, which was such good reasoning Nico couldn’t say no. "Gossip Girl? Sweet! What episode are you on?" 

And Nico could move on from there, could make up some excuse that he was watching for a friend -- very believable, since, well, his only friend is sitting beside him -- but he's tired and Percy's arm is warm where it's leaning against his own and so he offers up an earbud and pushes himself closer into Percy's space, sliding the laptop over so it's on both their thighs and mumbles, "Season Three Finale," into his collar. 

Percy whistles. "That's a killer."

This can't be ignored. Nico hits pause on Serena's face twisting into a grimace and turns to face Percy. " _You_ watch Gossip Girl," he says through a sigh because of _course_ he does. He probably watched it so he could have something in common with people, to relate to them, because that's what Percy _does_ ; he's nice and he's willing to watch teen dramas for people. 

"Sure," Percy shrugs. "Was devastated when it was over, ask Annabeth."

Maybe he's calling Nico's bluff here because he knows Nico isn't exactly on speaking terms with Annabeth -- it's nothing personal, really. They just don't have the time for one another these days what with the world not needing their help quite so much anymore, and yeah, maybe Nico is in love with her ex, so what -- and so he's obviously not going to drop in and ask just how much Percy cried when a stupid show he doesn’t even know why he’s watching ended.

"I don't believe you," he says, just because. Because he likes when Percy gets defensive over little things, when he huffs and rolls his eyes and pretends he doesn't care. Because he likes this friendship he has with Percy, the easy give and take that shouldn't be so easy after everything they've been through but somehow they fit together like a jigsaw, or like magnets, or like any other over-abused cliché that Nico likes to cling on to. Because he knows how Percy _works_. 

"Do you want me to tell you who Gossip Girl is?" Percy stretches, his words disappearing into a yawn, his arm dropping round Nico's shoulders. Nico leans into it automatically, wonders how this became so easy, thankful it did. "Will that make you believe me?"

"Shut up." Nico hits play again. "Watch or I'll make you leave."

"You could never kick me out. I know all your secrets, Nico di Angelo. XO XO Gossip Girl."

He pushes away how much it rings true and ends up falling asleep on Percy’s shoulder half an hour later. Percy wakes them when it's dark to shuffle them both further down the bed -- so you don’t get a strain in your precious little neck, he whispers into Nico’s ear -- so their heads are close on the pillows. Nico’s so tired he doesn’t register Percy’s arms tight around him until the next morning when he feigns sleep a bit longer and pushes back into them. He’s learned a few things since he was twelve and fell in love and one of them is to collect up the little things like this because it’s probably all he’s going to get.

\---

Nico works his way through Season Four slowly. He has college -- he doesn't see why he has to go to _college,_ it's not like he doesn't have plenty of job prospects down under but his dad had mentioned it one time in passing and Demeter had latched onto the idea. Not that it's even any of her business, Nico points out every time he sees her, which is too many times, it's too many -- and he has a job in the ice cream parlour across the street -- something Percy cried with laughter at when he found out and then asked how the fuck that had come about for the next ten minutes. The boss says he has a charming face under all the bangs and the scowl. It's whatever -- and he has to pop into Camp Half Blood every now and then -- he _promised_ , he gets thrown in his face every time he whines about it. Percy’s a trainer there now and the kids always get excited when two children of the Big Three fight. Nico is being _used_ here.

So he really has no free time whatsoever. He's finding that he likes it better when Percy's watching it with him, anyway, which is ridiculous because Percy is the worst person to watch TV with, everyone knows it. He laughs too loudly and talks through all the important bits and keeps nudging Nico when he knows something's about to happen, a smirk curving his mouth, and, see? He's the _worst_ but Nico's a sucker, everyone knows that too.

"Did you hear about Chris and Clarisse?" 

"Did you hear that you don't actually live here?" Nico calls back, not looking up from his textbook. He thought it would be ironic, hilarious even, to major in Economics since, you know, his dad is the god of _wealth_. But no, no that's not the case. Go figure. He doodles a star in the corner of his book, the star turning into a trident before he can stop it. A scribble of his pen gets rid of it and he drops his head onto his hands, disgusted at how far he’s let himself fall.

"I brought food!" There's a crash in the tiny area that _could_ be called a kitchen if you were feeling particularly generous but is mostly known as the corner with the kettle. It consists of a sink, a tiny oven, a single cupboard, a half size fridge/freezer and the kettle. Nico doesn't use it much. "It's your favourite."

And Nico gets up because that's what he does, he runs when Percy calls, and he wanders over to Percy and wraps an arm round his waist and pushes his face into his neck because that's what they do. There's something masochistic about the whole situation but since when has anything ever not been with Nico. At least with this he gets that run of pleasure, that glimpse of what could be, when Percy rests his head on his for a moment, squeezing his waist before he pulls out a plate from the cupboard and dumps all of the chow mein onto it. 

"Saves washing more than necessary," he explains like it’s obvious when Nico raises an eyebrow. "Get the forks."

And so they lean against the headboard of Nico’s bed, pressed together shoulder to thigh, and share their chow mein and watch Blair get given away in a wedding that’s all wrong and Nico pretends a little in his head that this is exactly what he wants -- he wants this, these soft edges and easy silences but he wants to be able to catch Percy’s top lip between his own, too, and he wants to be allowed to coax moans from Percy and feel Percy’s hands on his thighs and chest and pressed between his own and, well he could go on forever, but he’s content with this for now.

"What were you saying about Chris and Clarisse?" Nico remembers much later at the end of the third episode of the night and their heads are drooping.

"Wha -,” Percy blinks at him, his eyes sleepy. Nico feels a tug low in his stomach and fucking hell when did he become this soft. “Oh, yeah, they're engaged!"

There's a surprise. You don’t need to speak to Rachel to know _that_ one's been obvious for years. "Wow."

"Yeah, wow," Percy says, elbowing Nico in the side when he gets up to get them another beer. The alcohol doesn't do much to them, fucking godly metabolisms, but they both like to kid themselves that it does. 

"Can you imagine meeting the person you're ready to spend the rest of your life with at this age?" Nico scrambles up to follow Percy over to the counter. He wants to know what Percy thinks, wants him to mention Annabeth and say that maybe he’ll never move on from her that maybe he’ll ask her out again one day, just so Nico can get some closure and finally, possibly, probably not, move on with his life. 

Instead, because Percy Jackson is nothing if not unpredictable, he looks at Nico for a long time, so long Nico has to duck his head and look away because yeah he doesn’t _visibly_ blush but Percy will still be able to _tell_. Annabeth told him one time at the end of a quest when Percy was moaning about ripping his shirt and shaking twigs from his hair that Nico is as subtle as a satyr in a room full of sheep. Nico hadn’t really gotten the metaphor but he’d caught the gist from the sad look in Annabeth’s eyes and the way she smiled like she knew exactly what he was going through. He feels the same way now, caught out and cautious, like the world might fall from under his feet. 

He peeks up from under his bangs and Percy’s still looking at him, a smirk on his lips that makes Nico want to punch him and kiss him all at once. 

“I think --” Percy starts and stops again too quickly. He reaches out and catches Nico’s shoulder, running his hand over the hem of his t-shirt. “I think they’re made for each other and they’re lucky to be so confident about that.”

“We’ve lived through a war,” Nico says suddenly. It’s too heavy a statement for a conversation so light -- light in subject; Percy’s eyes still trained on him are saying the opposite -- but Percy nods, understanding.

“Someone told me that war makes people desperate. Not desperate,” he corrects himself before Nico can try. “Impulsive. The threat of death being so near puts things in perspective.” 

“So you think Chris and Clarisse are getting hitched because they didn’t get crushed by a Titan a few years ago?” Percy’s hand is still on Nico’s shoulder, his thumb brushing the bare skin exposed at his collar. It’s hard to keep on top of what’s being said when that’s happening and he thinks some of it might be important. 

Percy frowns like he can see the conversation slipping away from him. “No, I think they love each other and the war has shown them that life is short so they should do what they can while they can before it’s too late.”

The way he says it, serious and low like he’s thought about it a lot, and the way he’s looking at Nico makes Nico want to step further into him, tilt his head and kiss him. It maybe even, and Nico is only being a little delusional here, looks like he wants Nico to do exactly that. But that’s -- that’s stupid and this friendship is all Nico has, he can’t throw it away on a possible sign that might mean either _go for it, kiss me, you idiot_ or _get away from me already_. So, instead, going against everything his body is begging him to do, Nico steps back, nodding like he understands. “Yeah. Impulsive. People should be that more. Like now. I’m going for a walk.”

"Wait, Nico -"

But Nico's already slipped out the door and is halfway down the hall by the time Percy's mouth snaps shut. He tugs his hood over his head as he steps out into the rain -- of _course_ it’s raining -- and maybe he's imagining the way his shoulder seems to burn where Percy touched it but after what just happened it just might not be so far-fetched.

\---

A month passes and Nico doesn’t see Percy. He’s not _avoiding_ him, he’s just been very busy with other things. He has a job, you know, a very busy important job where damn the gods if he gives someone a scoop of double fudge brownie instead of chocolate. Working at the ice cream parlour gives him too much time to think, which leads to over analysing everything a la Blair Waldorf. Because a Save the Date is sitting on his kitchen counter when he gets in one day. He doesn't know why he gets a rush of surprise at it, Chris and Clarisse have always been decent to him, but there's no address on the envelope which tells him it was hand-delivered by Percy and if people know they're friends... well, Nico doesn't know what to make of that. He assumed that everyone thought he just lived Down Under now, following his dad’s orders and keeping out of the way, but if people know he’s friends with Percy -- if Chris and Clarisse knew they were close enough that Percy could hand in the invitation any time -- that means he must talk about Nico to people doesn’t it, and that changes things, right?

He spends a lot of time in the Underworld as well, gaining a twisted sense of calm from wandering the fields. He stays away from the River Styx, hasn't really brought himself to go near it since the battle. He still feels a nudge of guilt about that every so often, despite Percy assuring him every time that it’s okay, he feels sort of like a superhero, just watch his -- and then he stops because Annabeth is the only one who knows his vulnerable spot.

The wedding is the 4th of August; so close to the anniversary of the Titan War but far enough away that it doesn’t ring bittersweet. Nico wipes the dirt off his dark jeans and grudgingly buys a smart jacket from the thrift shop across the street, tugging the sleeves over his hands. He stares in the mirror for longer than usual, taking in the too long strands of hair around his face and the curve of his mouth that tugs his whole face down, and hopes it enough to blend into the background.

He remembers one dance the Aphrodite cabin had insisted they have at winter solstice a few months after the war. Annabeth and Percy had made Nico get ready with them -- Annabeth had sorted Percy’s hair and then did the same to Nico’s, messing it up just slightly to tame the draggedthroughabush look, and Percy had fastened her necklace, but the best bit, in Nico’s eyes anyway, had been fumbling with his tie until Percy had rolled his eyes and pulled it from his hands, twisting the knot deftly and running his fingers along Nico’s collar to feed it through. “Lookin' good, Di Angelo,” he had murmured, smirking, and Nico had stuck out his tongue and pulled at Percy’s lapel. It had allowed Nico to pretend, just for a second, that this was it, this was their moment. And then Annabeth had laughed and said isn’t it a miracle Percy knows how to knot a tie, of all things. They had entered the dance hall -- the stadium with some fairy lights and balloons -- together and they danced together a few times, all three of them, and Nico had felt part of something.

Now, Nico fixes his collar, tugs his sloppy tie straight, curses his reflection a couple more times, and then shadow-travels to the venue alone.  

It’s funny, seeing everyone again. Mr D is there with his -- oh, that must be his wife and his remaining kid. Nico’s seen the other one in Elysium a few times whenever he wanders over there. He’s doing alright, neither twin looks the same without the other. The wife is similar to Persephone, Nico thinks, turning away. There’s the Ares cabin all sticking together and the Hermes cabin close by. Nico spots Rachel sitting beside Jacob, a new kid Nico doesn’t know much about. And there’s Annabeth with -- not Percy, someone from her cabin if Nico remembers correctly, Mitchell or something. Percy is nowhere to be seen.

He doesn’t see Percy all through the ceremony. Not that he’s looking for him, no he’s sitting beside an old-timer from Demeter’s cabin and enjoying the lovely ceremony and yes Clarisse does clean up well, they sure do make a beautiful couple. 

Later at the reception, everyone is dancing and he’s ended up at a table with a bunch of Hermes’ kids, all of them asking him to raise spirits from the grave for them every two minutes. He’s wondering what time is appropriate to leave -- half nine surely? -- when --

“Dance with me?”  Nico looks up into Percy’s grin, his eyes sparkling. He looks so happy it makes Nico’s own mouth curve into a smile. 

“You’re joking, right?” It has to be a joke. Last time they were together they were so close to everything and nothing and now Percy’s asking him to dance like nothing’s different at all. 

“I never joke about dancing, you know that, Nico.” And Nico does know that Percy can’t dance for shit but he tries so hard anyway because look, he knows everything about this boy, everything he wants to and everything he doesn’t, whether he likes it or not. But it’s the way Percy says his name that has him getting out his seat and walking to the edge of the dance floor.

“You coming or what?” he smirks as he turns to Percy who’s looking at him with something in his eyes that Nico doesn’t understand. Percy trips over, pulling them right into the middle, ignoring Nico’s weak protests. 

He thought they would be doing the awkward dancing he always saw at dances when he was younger -- the dance he first met Percy, he realises suddenly --, with hands dangling at their sides and shuffling their feet in front of each other, but Percy grabs his hand in his and wraps his arm around Nico’s waist leaving Nico no choice but to rest his other one on Percy’s shoulder. They’re the same height now, Nico maybe even has an inch on Percy, and so there’s a second of who should lead before Percy takes a deliberate step forward forcing Nico to take one back. Nico looks out over Percy’s shoulder, watching the Stoll twins spin Clarisse between the two of them.

“Is this a shotgun wedding, Clarisse? When’s the due date?” Percy calls over, grinning when the bride tries to yell something back before she’s swept away by Connor and Travis.

“She looks happy,” Nico says, still watching as she throws her head back with a laugh.

“Rodriguez looks like he’s won the lottery,” Percy adds, then whistles low in Nico’s ear. “Married to Clarisse, he’s a brave guy.”

Nico gives a huff of laughter in agreement, wonders if they’re just going back to what they were before, not sure what he’s hoping for.

“I miss you,” Percy says all in a rush like he’s read Nico’s mind.

If Nico’s hand tightens in Percy’s he can’t be blamed. “I haven’t gone anywhere,” because he feels he deserves to be obtuse.

“What happened --” 

“It’s fine,” Nico pushes out the inevitable. “We can forget about it.” He’s played this in his head a few hundred times, he knows how it goes. 

“No, that’s not what I want,” Percy says, which isn't following the script.

“That’s not what you’re supposed to say,” Nico says stupidly.

“I want this with you,” Percy continues, disregarding what Nico’s just said with a wave of his hand. They’re still turning, so slowly. “Nico, you’re -- you’re something else.”

“Percy --” 

“I thought this was what you wanted.”

“It is. Percy, it is, you know that.” It’s all out on the table now. Nico can’t think above the rush in his ears. This was supposed to happen on his death bed or something as equally unavoidable not this, not at a wedding. They’re such clichés it’s disgusting. “But, what about Annabeth?”

“What _about_ Annabeth? I broke up with Annabeth when I realised I was in love in with _you_. A _year_ ago.”

“You’re in love with me?” Look, it’s hard to wrap your head around something this big, around something you’ve been wanting since you were twelve. “You never said anything.” Which is something they should really talk about because Nico’s been over here holding himself back and staring into the distance when he could have been doing _other things_.

“Annabeth said I should wait for you to,” Percy says, his forehead creasing when he thinks it over. “Which I never should have listened to since you’re a stubborn little shit.”

“You love me,” Nico says with a smile, a real grin that feels like it’s splitting his face in two.

“You don’t have to keep reminding me,” Percy’s voice climbs into a whine that makes Nico laugh. He tugs Percy over to the edge of the room by his belt-loops, into the shadows.

“I love you, too,” he says, quietly and confidently, and then he leans forward and kisses Percy. He breathes in and it’s Percy and his hands clutch at hips and it’s Percy and he pushes forward so their bodies slot together (like a jigsaw, like a mosaic, like _he always said_ ) and his head is spinning and his nose brushes Percy’s and it’s that feeling, that feeling where you want something for so long that finally getting it doesn’t seem real. It’s a new feeling for Nico, he’s not used to get something he wants and so he holds on, terrified it will end when he opens his eyes. But Percy is kissing him back, his lips soft and he tastes like cake and he’s making these little noises that Nico wants to replay over and over -- and maybe he can, because Percy is kissing back, and see, this is why you shouldn’t listen to people who say things like _move on_ and _get over him_ because he’s here now, he has Percy’s hands on his waist and in his hair and they’re both so desperate he spares a thought for the world because powers this strong shouldn’t be left unchecked and unattended.

“Wow,” he breathes into Percy’s neck when they break apart.

“Wow,” Percy agrees, pressing a kiss under Nico’s ear. “Could’ve been doing that a few months ago if we’d been less stupid.”

“If _you_ could have been less stupid,” Nico argues, kissing Percy before he can reply. “I.” He kisses him again. “Have been.” Kiss. “Obvious.” Another kiss. “From the start.”

“Don’t turn this into a competition,” Percy says into Nico’s neck. He smudges a kiss there, one that makes Nico squirm and hold on tighter. “I love you, you know that?”

Nico laughs delightedly. He doesn’t think he’s been this happy before. It’s different and clear and so good he wants it to continue forever if he can. “We’re making a scene,” he laughs, carding a hand through Percy’s hair and pushing him away a tiny bit.

“So we are,” Percy agrees when he looks up to see half of the dance floor looking over at them. Nico catches Annabeth’s eye where she’s dancing with Mitchell -- _Malcolm_ , so similar -- and tenses, half-expecting some sort of attack, but she beams like this is all she’s ever wanted. If he’s not said it before, Annabeth Chase is a fucking star.

“Wanna get out of here?” Percy says hot on Nico’s ear. Nico pulls him in for another kiss as he steps back into the shadows and across Manhattan.

\---

“Dan Humphrey?!” Nico squawks two weeks later. He sits up properly, kicking the covers off his feet in shock. “Dan is Gossip Girl?!”

The look on Percy’s face would make you think he was a writer on the show. He nods smugly from over beside the fridge. “Never saw that coming, didya?” 

“You never either.” 

“Obviously I did. I know everything,” Percy mumbles through the biscuits he’s shoved in his mouth to free up his hands for the mugs of coffee. He settles cross-legged on the bed in front of the laptop which is still frozen on the reactions of Dan’s bombshell. 

“You don’t know what one’s mine,” Nico says, gesturing to the mugs which have the exact same pattern of spots on them.

Percy swallows thickly then takes a gulp of the one of the left. “Yuck. Here.” He thrusts the mugs at Nico, grimacing. “ _How_ you can take four sugars I will never know.”

“Need something to keep me sweet,” Nico grins.

“I’m not even going to compliment you,” Percy says with a sniff, turning away.

“Remember when you said you loved me,” Nico says, setting down his mug to plaster himself to Percy’s back, pressing a kiss onto his bare shoulder. “You can’t take that back.” 

“You’re awful. I miss when you were a weird little kid who played with cards all the time and hated me for everything.”

“I didn’t ever hate you, not really.” It’s a sensitive topic they’ve skimmed over a few times without ever digging in further and Nico’s happy to leave it at that. “Tell me, who did you really think Gossip Girl was?”

“Bet you thought it was Nate. Going for the underdog.”

“I thought that would be a twist,” Nico says defensively. No he did _not_ sit and plan it out. "You thought it was Darota. _Everyone_ thought it was Darota."

Percy turns and kisses Nico, pushing him down onto his back and covering him with his body. “Maybe now that you’ve finished you’ll have some time for me.” he murmurs in the gap between their mouths, breaking away to press kisses down Nico’s neck, licking over the bruise he made yesterday. Nico digs his fingers into Percy’s shoulders and whines, the sound getting caught in his throat. “And we can do this. All day long.”

It’s funny, in an abstract sort of way, that this is where they’ve ended up. Nico runs a hand down Percy’s arm and thinks it’s alright here, on a Sunday morning, in the middle of New York with Percy. It might even be better than alright, just a little. 

 


End file.
